


Family Affairs

by little_angry_kitten18



Series: The Family Affairs AU [4]
Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Some Humor, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_angry_kitten18/pseuds/little_angry_kitten18
Summary: "We've been together for five almost six years and two of those years married. But the last few months I can't get the idea out of my mind. I really want children Dimitri and I want them with you!"
Relationships: Adrian Ivashkov/Sydney Sage, Dimitri Belikov/Rose Hathaway, Janine Hathaway/Abe Mazur, Lissa Dragomir & Rose Hathaway, Lissa Dragomir/Christian Ozera
Series: The Family Affairs AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1427401
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am rewriting some of this. Not many differences than the original posted in FF, just a few things here and there. Do keep in mind that I wrote this in like 2013 before The Ruby Circle and the fan service that was done with it came out.

**"** _A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."-Author Unknown_

* * *

"You are not getting any younger!"

"I'm thirty Roza!"

"My point exactly! You are not getting any younger Comrade!" She threw her hands up in annoyance.

"What brought this up? You were fine just a few hours ago." He pulled her to sit on his lap and kissed her exposed shoulder.

"Mia is pregnant." She murmured as her eyes lowered to the floor. Rose was happy for her friend, she really was but the news bothered her a little more than they should. She had gotten used to the idea of her and Dimitri never having kids and at some point, she was relieved by it but as the years went by things changed.

She changed.

"That's wonderful news!" His smile was bright but Rose could see the sadness in his eyes. She knew it hurt him as much as it hurt her.

"I know." She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "What if I told you I want a baby?" The question hangs between for a moment. They both knew the answer, they couldn't have a child together, at least not in the usual way.

"Do you?" His arms tighten around her, drawing her closer to his body. She stayed silent and that was all Dimitri needed to know the truth. "Please talk to me, Roza. We can figure something out."

"You know I love you, right?" He nodded placing another kiss on her shoulder. "We've been together for five almost six years and two of those years married. But in the last few months, I can't get the idea out of my mind. I really want children Dimitri and I want them with you!"

"You know I'm always open to adoption."

"Selfish as it sounds I want the whole package." She felt guilty for wanting those things. She knew that Dimitri really wanted to be a father yet gave up on the idea just to be with her, so she had no right to desire a baby. "I want the morning sickness, the ultrasounds, the weird cravings, the mood swings, the big belly, I want to feel those things; I want to _live_ this Dimitri."

"Are you suggesting what I think you do?" He raised an eyebrow praying that he understood wrong. He simply couldn't share her with someone else. Even if it meant they would get a baby out of it.

"No! God no, Dimitri! I could never do that to you, to _us_." She pressed a soft kiss on his lips. While she really desired a baby she could never sleep with anyone other than her husband. Her failed relationship if you can call it that, with Adrian proved that a few years ago. "What if I told you I have a better and easier idea than that?"

"Would you stop being so cryptic, Roza? Tell me, what did you come up with this time?" Dimitri released a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. He was sure that his wife had come up with something. Besides when Rose Hathaway wanted something she got it.

"I've been talking to Dr. Olendzki the past few weeks," Dimitri nodded signaling that she had all his attention. "We've been trying to come up with ways to solve our problem. A few days ago she suggested IVF since we can't conceive naturally." She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

What the doctor wanted to try would be a very hard procedure from every aspect of the subject, physical and emotional alike; and let's not start with the fact that they weren't sure she would become pregnant on the first try.

"Again, I can't see this working. The problem has nothing to do with us not trying enough, it's about genetics Roza." Dimitri shook his head still confused about what she was thinking.

"That would be true." The words left her lips slowly, almost carefully. "If we tried it with one of my eggs. Now if we used a Moroi one..." She trailed off letting him put two and two together.

"When do you think we can meet with Dr. Olendzki?" Dimitri sounded eager to hear more about it and she smiled brightly as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"As soon as possible. She is waiting for us." Hope sparked inside both of them; maybe, just maybe God took pity on them this time. Maybe they would have a family after all.

* * *

It was unbelievable how much their lives had changed. If you asked her a few years ago about what she wanted to do for the rest of her life the answer would be 'I want to protect Lissa'. Obviously, she wasn't doing that. Rose found herself thinking back to the choice she made six years ago very often.

Not in the regretful type of way, no. More like on the 'what if'; what if she had stayed on the Court? What if she was Lissa's Guardian now? What if she had never forgiven Dimitri? But you can't really live your life with 'what if's that much she knew. She loved her life beside Abe, she had Dimitri and Lissa was doing just fine on her own. So she couldn't really complain. Everyone was happy.

The moment she announced to her father that she was going to stay with him Abe set the rules straight. From then on she was going to be his daughter officially, meaning that she had to carry herself as a Mazur. She would never have to bend to anyone's will. Instead, everyone would be obligated to bend over backward to give _her_ whatever she wished for. Abe was set on trying to make up for everything she went through. His daughter deserved to be treated like a princess and that was how it would be. He kept true to his promise, the past few years he was teaching her everything he knew for her to step into his shoes when the time came.

Rose never considered herself the motherly type kind of woman. She liked kids but she had never imagined that she would want one of her own. But she did, she wanted it so much it hurt. So she did the next best thing she could, if nature would never let them have a child she had to find an alternative.

This is how the call to Dr. Olendzki was made. The kind doctor was the only one she could bring in mind that would be willing to help her. As Rose suspected Annie was more than happy to help and after weeks of e-mail back and forth they both decided it would be better to meet and discuss this in person.

She was worried about the whole situation; there was no doubt about that. So many things could go wrong. Her not getting pregnant easily, none of the eggs being successfully fertilized, getting pregnant, and losing the baby, the possibilities were endless. But she was willing to go down that road. Dimitri's fingers laced with hers bringing Rose out of her musings.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He whispered and placed a soft kiss on her palm.

"I'm just a little nervous." She murmured trying to hide her real thoughts. "We haven't been to the academy in ages. I wonder if anything changed."

"Everything's going to be alright, Roza." He smiled that special smile he had only for her and she felt her fears slip away. At least for now. "Alberta is very excited that we are visiting after so long and from what she told me while on the phone so is everyone else. Even Stan!" A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips at the mention of her old teachers.

Yes, their relationship was unsteady at first, always butting heads but Rose was fond of Stan. Even if she refused to admit it in front of him, he taught her many things. Nonetheless, she still loved to tease him mercilessly. So lost in her thoughts she didn't realize they had reached their destination.

Her heart hammered inside her chest as the iron gates of the Academy came to view and Rose felt that familiar feeling of coming back home. Because that's what the academy was for her, the home she knew since she was four. Alberta was waiting for them ready to let them in. The excitement was written all over her face as she beamed at them. Rose couldn't help but smile back at her old teacher. She was out of the car as soon as Dimitri stopped wrapping her arms around the older woman.

"Welcome back," Alberta whispered as they pulled apart.

* * *

Annie's office hadn't changed at all since she last had been here. Coming to the Academy did her good, it was always a place where she could relax and be herself. Right now though Rose was far from being relaxed. They had been here for almost five days; they did some catch up with the other guardians, taught a few lessons to the older classes per Alberta's request, and finally took a trip down on memory lane in their old cabin. But all good things come to an end and so did their little vacations. It was time to get down to business.

"Stop." Dimitri's smooth voice brought her back to reality. "You are overthinking and analyzing everything. I can hear your mind going into overdrive. Everything is going to be just fine." Rose took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down.

"I know." She whispered finally meeting his gaze. "But I can't help it. I want this so much and I'm just scared that I'm never going to get it."

"Don't be, Roza." He kissed the inside of her palm gently. "I told you I'm right here. In sickness or health! You won't do this alone." Just as she was about to say something Annie walked in.

"Rose. Guardian Belikov." She smiled warmly at the young couple as she took a seat behind her desk. "So far everything looks fine but those are just typical blood tests." They nodded along holding their breath as the next words left Annie's lips. "But as I told you, Rose, I'm merely a general doctor. Now, my friend Leonard, and his partner on the other hand they are geniuses. They have worked with human geneticists too and know the subject like none other. Granted what you want to try has never been done before but they are more than happy to try it out."

"So what are you trying to say?" Dimitri was the first to speak.

"I'm saying that my friends are waiting for you to fly to Court in order to start the procedures. The only problem though is that Rose will need to stay there for as long as she is pregnant. They will want to keep an eye on her and make sure everything is alright."

"That's not a problem," Rose assured her. "As long as we get our wish a few months away from home are nothing."

* * *

Leonard was a lovely young Moroi man in his mid-thirties, friendly and with an amazing sense of humor. What surprised them more was that he was married to a Dhampir woman and not only that but she was a doctor too and his partner. It made her and Dimitri feel a little more comfortable about what they wanted to do. For the past hour, he had been explaining to both of them the stages of the procedure, what they needed to do, how to do it, answering questions they might had and such.

"That's all you need to know," Leonard concluded and Penny gave them a warm smile. "Any questions?"

"When do you think we can start?" Rose gripped Dimitri's hand tighter waiting for the answer.

"As soon as we have the eggs and the sperm we are good to go." Penny chimed in. "Your tests came back clear so I see no reason on waiting." For the first time in a long while, Rose felt hopeful.

* * *

"You act as you have never done this before!" She whispered trying to keep her amusement in check. Rose would admit that the position he was in was a little bit uncomfortable but it was for a good reason. He grumbled something under his breath and she smiled. "Want me to help you with it?" She suggested kissing his lips sweetly.

"Yes, please!" He actually pouted making her giggle. Really, seeing _the_ Dimitri Belikov pout wasn't something that happened every day. A sperm donation was very much needed for the eggs to be fertilized but Dimitri was being difficult about it. All she asked him was to masturbate for God's sake, something she knew he did every morning in the shower.

"You big baby!" She teased as she pulled him to the small room designed for that very reason. She had to give it to the clinic owners; they did not spare their money in decorating the place. It looked nothing like a hospital room. More like how a teenage boy would imagine his dream bedroom. There was just so much porn! Not that she had something against porn but the amount was just ridiculous. "This…" she murmured, "Is impressive."

This time it was Dimitri's turn to laugh.

"Men want what men want, Roza." He sat in the comfy armchair and pulled her to sit on his lap. "I, on the other hand, want only you." He crushed his lips against hers and a small moan escaped her. It always surprised her how his kiss only could get her body going. Heat pooled between her legs and she had to remind herself that this wasn't about her. Adjusting herself, she straddled his lap as her hands did quick work of his button and zipper.

All the while, their lips never parting.

Dimitri's hands unbuttoned her silk blouse and slipped inside cupping the soft mounds. A loud moan escaped him as her small hands wrapped around his length and gave a teasing squeeze. "Like that, baby?" She whispered in his ear huskily.

"Uh-huh." Dimitri nodded unable to form a coherent thought. Rose set a slow rhythm working him the way she knew he liked it. Kissing his neck while her fist slide up and down teasing him mercilessly. His lips found hers again as his fingers worked her nipples into stiffness. A moan was torn from the back of her throat as she pulled back and rested her forehead against his.

"Do you know what I'm thinking, Comrade?" She smirked as she picked up the pace, moving her fist faster over him.

"Please do share, Roza." He murmured as his mouth lowered to one of her breasts taking a rosy tip between his lips. Her fingers laced themselves in his soft hair pushing him against her seeking more.

"Mmm… I'm thinking of that night you took me against the wall in that dark alley." She nibbled playfully at his ear lob, teasing the soft flesh with her tongue. Rose knew very well that the night they came together after almost losing each other for like the tenth time would stay with them forever. She discovered that letting him know exactly how amazing it was turned Dimitri on so much he couldn't help but ravish her. His hands moved possessively over her body trying to reach for every part of her. "It makes me wet only thinking about it." She moaned deeply and felt him twitch in her hand. A cocky smirk crawls its way up her lips as his fingers slipped underneath her skirt. Dimitri rested his forehead against hers as his breath came out in small pants.

"Fuck Roza!" He gasped as her other hand cupped his balls and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Tell me more, baby."

"I can still remember how good your cock felt." She moaned as his fingers slipped inside her. "Stretching me so deliciously after so long, Comrade! It felt like coming home." Her hips pushed against his hand harder as her movements became quicker.

"I'm so close!" He murmured as his lips found hers again.

"Let go, Comrade." She panted as they pulled back. Years of being together like this made her capable of knowing how to get him off. "I'm here, lover, just let it go." Dimitri's fingers left her and slide down her thighs grabbing the soft flesh harshly, holding for dear life as sweet ecstasy washed over him. Rose barely had time to put the small plastic cup in place before they made a complete mess.

"You didn't finish." He whispered as they tried to catch their breath.

"This wasn't about me, Dimitri." She smiled softly. "But I did enjoy it very much! We should do it more often." She teased as they fixed their clothes.

* * *

"Why are you here, again?" Rose sighed trying to focus on her paperwork. The brown-haired man opposite her was testing her patience for the past two hours.

"Moral support, Little Dhampir." Adrian put his cigar out, she thought he had stopped that disgusting habit. "Deciding to be a parent is a serious thing. Besides, you are leveling up, Hathaway. I couldn't miss that!" She threw him a side glance not sure if she wanted to know what he meant.

"I'm leveling up?" She arched an eyebrow. "How?" To be honest she was so stressed out the last few days and Adrian's presence here wasn't half bad. Through the years they had formed a close friendship, they were practically siblings. He was the one that looked after her (not that she needed babysitting, mind you) when Dimitri and her father were away for business and the only one except Dimitri that knew her better than she knew herself. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't a pain in her ass; like now for example. She was trying to look over some papers for the house they were going to buy at Court but Adrian was stalling her.

They were going to spend the next year here and Rose didn't fancy renting a small flat. They would need space thus how the house idea was born. Besides investing in properties was never a bad choice. She would know. Other than the mansion they owned in Smyrna, they also owned a few properties all over Greece, London, and now a townhouse here in Court. All of them her ideas; when Abe lived alone it never crossed his mind to do something like that but Rose loved traveling and she liked to stay in her house wherever she went.

"You are becoming a MILF, Little Dhampir." He chuckled as Rose threw him a dirty glare. "What? You are!" He justified his opinion.

"I swear to God, Adrian, sometimes I just really want to hit you with something heavy, Royal Moroi or not!" Her eyes lowered to the papers in her lap again as Adrian chuckled evilly.

* * *

The only thing Dimitri wanted was to go home as soon as possible. It'd been a hard day for him; Lissa had asked him to take a look at the Court's perimeter security charts with Hans. His feet were hurting from spending the day running around and a headache had been slowly killing him over the past couple of hours. They had been on the move all day long and Hans made nothing easy for him. As much as Dimitri respected him it looked like the older man was offended by Lissa's request. Dimitri didn't blame him though, he would be too if he was in Hans' shoes.

During the past six years that Lissa had been Queen, things had changed for the better. In his own twisted way, Victor was right, Lissa was everything they needed. She brought new ideas and settled issues and disputes without altering the old traditions. Now their community worked as one; both Moroi and Dhampir learned to fight and watch each other's backs. She also took a big risk and started helping the Dhampir women who wanted to raise their children rather than have them in the guard. Long gone were the days where you could find blood whores.

All he wanted now was to go home and cuddle with his Roza on the couch, order some dinner, and maybe watch a movie. They hadn't seen each other properly the last week. What with Rose always being with Lissa, he dealing with Abe's business and every other free time spend on doctor's appointments they ended up being so tired that the only thing they could do was give each other a goodnight kiss before they fell asleep.

Dimitri climbed the steps to their house eagerly and felt excited at the prospect of finally having a little alone time with his wife. Their wedding had been a simple family affair. Dimitri had to give it to Lissa and Mia; they both had outdone themselves. He and Rose were married in the Academy's chapel, in the place where everything started. Even if they didn't live there anymore, that place was special to both of them. He still remembered the moment when his Roza walked down the aisle on her father's arm like it was yesterday, even though it had been six years.

"Roza." He called down the empty hallway whilst removing his boots.

"She is in your bedroom," A very familiar voice said, "With her mother and she is crying." His father-in-law had adopted a low warning tone. "May I ask why is my daughter crying, Belikov? I thought I had made myself clear about those kinds of things." And he had. From the moment Abe gave Dimitri permission to date Rose he made it very, very clear that if Dimitri ever hurt Rose again, he would kill him painfully and very slowly.

"I have no idea," Dimitri answered, concerned about Rose. Surely she would have called him if something had happened. He moved to go upstairs but Abe caught him by the arm before he could take a step further.

"No." He shook his head. "Let them talk alone," Abe said and dragged him over to the living room. "Are you sure you didn't do anything?" He asked again and eyed his son-in-law carefully.

"She was fine when I left her this morning," Dimitri answered sincerely. He settled himself beside Abe and waited for Janine to come down.

* * *

Janine had started to worry about Rose. Her daughter was always a strong person but right now, seeing her like this made her heartache. For the past three hours, Rose had been crying nonstop and Janine couldn't for the life of her understand what had happened.

"Rose, sweetheart, tell me what's wrong." She pleaded. "I can't help you if I don't know what happened." She said as she stroked Rose's hair softly. Through the years their relationship hadn't been the best, but they were working on it. They had made big progress in the communication part. After all these years they were finally able to talk like mother and daughter. Of course, it helped that Janine made sure to spend at least a month with her every year. After all, she had more than enough vacation days to spend.

After what felt like days Rose pulled herself together and sat up against the headboard of the bed, Janine beside her. She wiped her tears and turned to look at her mother. "Remember last year when we went to Russia?" Janine nodded; they had all taken a trip there to visit Dimitri's family. "While we were there Dimitri and I talked about children. Of course, you know that I can't get pregnant and so we accepted the fact that it would be just the two of us." So far everything made sense. "A few weeks ago Mia called me to let me know she was pregnant. So I told her how happy I was about her and Eddie and then made up an excuse and hang up on her. To be honest I was kind of upset with the news. Instead of being happy for my friend, I envied her for being able to have a child when I couldn't."

Rose took a deep breath as she felt tears welling up in her eyes again.

"After I was done mopping I pulled myself together and I came up with an idea." Janine listened to her carefully. "It's a fact that Dhampir can't reproduce together but what would happen if we used IVF and replace my eggs with Moroi ones?"

"So _what_ happened?" Janine asked intrigued about what Rose was talking about. Her daughter had a unique charisma of making impossible things happen and if her theory could come true then this would be a very big step for all of them. Of course, not everyone would be thrilled about it but she couldn't sweat it enough right now.

"It worked," Rose answered, smiling weakly. "My doctor just called me to let me know that the procedure was successful. He wants to set up a date so they can implant the embryos in me." Her mother looked at her blankly, as she tried to understand what her daughter was talking about.

"So, are you trying to say that you're expecting?" Janine was still processing the information that she was going to be a grandma. Rose smiled a little wider as she saw her mother's face light up with happiness. "Baby that's wonderful!" She exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not exactly expecting yet." Rose was playing with the hem of her shirt. "In a few days though..." She trailed off.

"What's troubling you, sweetie?" Janine reached and took Rose's hands in hers. "So far you only gave me the good news. What's scaring you so much that you've been crying your heart out for the last few hours?" Rose felt tears threatening to fall from her eyes again. For the first time in her life, she was so happy to have her mom by her side. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I'm scared out of my mind. I know I was the one that pushed for it but what if something goes wrong? What if I lose the baby or deliver a stillborn? I can't let Dimitri down like that mom!" Rose admitted.

"Oh, honey, everything is going to be fine! You have to have faith, sweetheart. We are all right here; you won't have to do this alone." Rose had to give it to her mom; hanging out with Olena had had a positive influence on her. Janine wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed her forehead. "Now, I'm going to see where that husband of yours is and I will send him up, so you can talk. Alright?" Rose nodded and lay down on the bed as her mother made her way out of the room.

* * *

"For the hundredth time, Abe, no! I didn't do anything!" Dimitri sighed. Abe had been grilling him for the past hour about what happened.

"Leave the boy alone, Ibrahim. Rose is fine." Dimitri leaped from his seat at the sound of Janine's voice, "Go!" She motioned towards the stairs. "She wants to talk to you." She smiled cryptically and before she knew it Dimitri was gone.

"What happened?" Abe asked, raising a dark eyebrow at her.

"A baby happened, sweetheart!" She answered smiling. "Congratulations you are going to be a grandpa!" Janine laughed at his shocked, pale face. For a mobster, he sometimes acted a lot like a girl.

* * *

Rose was almost asleep when she heard a knock on the door. She was exhausted after everything that had happened earlier that day. She had cut her meeting sort when Leonard called her and rushed home. When he told her that the embryos survived she was ecstatic and scared at the same time. Finally, she would be able to give her husband what he had always dreamed of, yet given up just to be with her. Dimitri had always wanted kids and Rose hated the fact that she was the reason he would never have any.

"Rose?" His voice was low and full of concern as he poked his head around the edge of the door. "Are you sleeping?" She turned to face him and smiled weakly.

"I want to talk to you about something." She murmured and Dimitri immediately moved to sit beside her on the bed.

"Roza, you know you can tell me anything." He kissed her forehead and then her lips softly. "Whatever happened we can deal with it together. It's what we do, what we always did." He smiled and wrapped his strong arms around her, making Rose feel a little safer.

"Leonard called me today." She spoke softly. Dimitri eyed her for a moment.

"And?"

"The procedure was successful. The embryos survived and are ready to be implanted." She watched as his eyes lit up as he took in her words.

"So what you're trying to say is that we're going to be parents?" He asked, a wide smile threatening to creep across his features, and she nodded not trusting her voice to speak. This could very well end up bad but Rose couldn't find it in herself to think negatively right now.

"Yep. We are going to be parents." She stated, her smile mirroring his own. Before she knew it she was in his arms and Dimitri was kissing her with everything he had. Pouring into the kiss all the love and adoration he felt towards her.

Breaking away, he rested his forehead against hers as they panted. Dimitri kissed a trail down her neck, between her breasts and towards her stomach where their child would be resting peacefully in a few days. He pulled her shirt up and pressed his lips against exposed skin softly.

Yes, this would be hard but she was willing to take the risks if it meant Dimitri would smile like that all the time.

* * *

"I need you to relax, Rose," Leonard asked for what was like the hundredth time patting her thigh softly. "Otherwise I can't work. If you don't relax, the only thing I'll be able to do is to hurt you." It wasn't her first time lying on an OB-Gyn's examining table but it was as unpleasant as always.

"Come on Roza," Dimitri whispered in her ear softly intending to make her feel more comfortable but had the exact opposite effect. Her hand gripped his tighter and her nails bit into his palm making him hiss. Rose let herself fall back against the table and took a deep breath.

"Easy for you to say." She grunted as Leonard poked a little more between her legs. "You are not the one with your legs up the fucking air spread for everyone to see! Son of bitch!" Her voice boomed as Leonard pushed something a little harder than he should. "What the hell are you doing down there?" The poor Moroi doctor put his hands up moved a few steps away from her.

The stress had been eating her up the last few days and she knew it was bad for her. Dimitri tried to be as helpful as possible but he couldn't understand what Rose was going through. Their whole life was depending on her right now, Penny had assured her that the first try might not be successful and that it's normal but Rose could do nothing but be scared beyond belief.

"Guys!" Penny butted in ready to save the day. "Leonard dear, why don't you take Dimitri and go have a cup of coffee?" She suggested in a voice that dripped honey but all of them took the message. "I'll finish up with Rose here." Leonard nodded and pulled Dimitri with him before he could protest. As much as Rose loved him she felt a little more relaxed now. It seems like having Dimitri with her in here wasn't such a good idea. "Lay back for me, sweetie, and take a few deep breaths." Rose did as she was told. She grunted in discomfort as she felt Penny get back to work but held her tongue.

"So, how did you and Leonard meet?" Rose tried to make small talk to distract herself from what was happening.

"I've never told you about it?" Penny smiled looking up at her and Rose shook her head. Penny launched into the story of how she and Leonard met. By the time it was done Rose had laughed enough that her sides were hurting. Penny gave her instructions for the next few weeks and sent her home to rest.

* * *

"Rose was clearly the best companion the Doctors ever had. I can't understand why you are trying to deny that! No one can do better than her!" Rose huffed.

"I'm not saying that Rose wasn't good, I actually think she is pretty hot! I'm just saying that I prefer Donna. She was the most important woman in the whole universe after all!" Adrian grabbed a Twizzlers from the bag between them.

"No one matters now that Rose is gone. I don't think the rest of the companions can top the chemistry she had with both the Doctors."

"That's the point!" Adrian growled throwing his hands in the air. "She was the only one that stuck around with two Doctors! Of course, no one could top that!"

"Why are you still here?" Rose hissed pulling the TiVo remote from his hand and pushing the button for the next episode.

"You invited me over!" He hissed frustrated. "And I'm starting to regret ever dropping by!" Rose was on bed rest for the past three weeks doing as little as she could mean that she needed company. Her parents and Dimitri were working, Lissa was always in her office, and as for Christian, he preferred to stay away because according to him a pregnant Rose was worse than a pack of hungry wolves. So that left Adrian to keep her entertained which he was starting to find hard.

They've been watching Doctor Who for the past few hours and both found it hard to agree on who was the best companion the Doctor ever had. Just as he was about to argue with her some more the door clicked open and his former arch-nemesis walked in. "Dimitri is here!" Rose smirked as the tall Russian walked into the living room. "Comrade, back me up!"

"You don't have a crazy, evil plan again do you?" One could never be sure with a Rose Hathaway. He bends down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"No!" She answered too quickly for his liking. "Not yet at least. But I do plan on sending a letter to BBC and Russell T Davies." She grumbled as she moved to make room for him. "Who do you think was the best companion for the Doctor?" Dimitri settled beside her pulling her legs to rest on his lap. This king-sized couch was the best investment they ever made.

"Of course he is going to agree with you! He knows that if he doesn't you are going to withhold bedroom rights!" Adrian hissed and fixed her with a glare. Dimitri had to admit he quite liked them when they behaved like five-year-olds.

"The Ponds were my favorite." Silence fell over them and Dimitri could swear his words were about to start a war. He forgot how worked up they got about these things. Which as it turned ours was quite funny to all of them. Rose and Adrian would be the last people someone would call a geek a few years back yet here they were.

"What?! Why?" Dimitri had to laugh at their joined voices. A few weeks ago Rose discovered Doctor Who and after that, she discovered the fandom behind it and the rest was history. He did like the show but the rest was all Greek to him. It kept her happy though and a happy Rose was a well behaved Rose.

"Because I liked them the best. Yes Rose was good for the Doctor and he might have even loved her-"

"He did love her!" Rose hissed.

"Okay, he loved her," Dimitri raised his hands in surrender. "Donna might have been a good addition to the mix, being the best friend he needed and all but the Ponds were what made the Doctor truly happy. They gave him a family and River Song! Now Martha? She was the worst of the lot! Never quite liked that one, what with her crush on Ten and all. I made my peace with her after the fourth season ended though. She and Mickey made a cute couple." He smiled as both Adrian and Rose grumbled. "And to answer your question I pretty much signed off my bedroom rights the moment I decided to marry her. She is the boss now!" He smirked when Adrian frowned and Dimitri placed a hand over Rose's still flat stomach.

"You people suck!" That sounded like a whine but Dimitri let it go as Adrian got up. "I'm done for tonight. Now that your husband is here I'm not needed." He glared at Rose still slightly annoyed from their argument.

"You are dropping by tomorrow?" Rose's voice was equally sharp.

"Yes!" Adrian shot back curtly.

"Good!" She huffed. "We are watching Game Of Thrones." Adrian nodded his agreement and left the room, still wounded by his defeat. Dimitri shook his head laughing softly.

"I think I will install cameras in the house." He said placing a kiss on Rose's forehead and got up. "You are just too damn funny not too! Those recordings can make you famous if used right." He said over his shoulders as he walked to the kitchen. Rose hide a small smirk as she turned to look back to the TV screen. Yeah, she enjoyed those little fights too.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Penny asked her as she settled on the chair beside the examining table. Today was their first ultrasound and both Rose and Dimitri were ecstatic if not a little scared too.

"I'm fine." Rose smiled sweetly placing her hand over her flat stomach. She wasn't showing yet but she could see the differences, things that others couldn't notice. She was awed by the changes in her body. "I'm feeling a little dizzy from time to time and I threw up a few times but other than that I'm fine." Penny nodded smiling while writing the info down.

"That's perfectly normal this early in the pregnancy. I trust you take your prenatal vitamins and follow a healthier diet?" Rose nodded and nudged Dimitri with her elbow, shutting him up before he could say anything. "I know about the donuts she has been sneaking Dimitri," Penny smirked at Rose's shocked face. "I have eyes everywhere sweetie, you can't hide from me. It's fine as long as it's only one every now and then." Penny patted Rose's knee and motioned for her to lie down."Pull up your shirt for me." Rose smiled at Penny's soothing voice and did as she was told. Her heart almost stopped beating as Penny touched the ultrasound machine on her stomach. The small room filled with the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Her hand found Dimitri's and she gripped it hard. "See that little peanut-shaped thing?" Penny touched the screen where the tinny embryo was showing. "That's him or her." By now tears were running down Rose's face and she just couldn't believe how blessed she was. Dimitri placed a sweet kiss against her temple.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear softly. "Thank you so much for this." Rose's face was starting to hurt from all the smiling as Penny moved the wand around. For a few minutes they were lost in their own little world, the baby's heartbeat the only thing they could hear.

"Oh!" Rose's eyes snapped to meet Penny's alarmed. "Oh!" The blonde woman exclaimed again with what could only be described as a surprise.

"What?" Rose's eyes searched the black and white screen for anything that looked out of place. "What is it?"

"Give me a sec." Penny moved the wand again and a second later another heartbeat filled the silence again. "It seems like there is someone else in there too." She joked as she pointed on another black spot on the screen. "Look at that! They are twins!" She exclaimed happily as she turned to face the parents to be. Needless to say, the sight of Dimitri's pale face was a sight to be seen.

* * *

"Attaboy!" Adrian laughed and slapped Dimitri on the back. "Who would have thought! Twins!" If he was being honest he rather liked Dimitri's face the last few hours. They might have been in speaking terms the past few years, even friends really, but there was something about seeing the tall Russian panicking that put Adrian in a good mood. "Just look at Belikov's face." He chuckled taking a seat on the couch beside him.

"What's wrong with my face?" Dimitri growled.

"Nothing!" Adrian teased. "You just look so handsome all pale and ready to faint!" That earned him a laugh from the others and a glare from Dimitri. After they left the doctor's office Rose demanded everyone to come over for dinner. As per usual, her friends were more than happy to comply with her wishes.

"Oh dear Lord!" Christian murmured entering the room holding bags with taking out. "Can you imagine? Two more little Hathaways bad-mouthing everyone!"

"Hey! I wasn't bad mouthing anyone unless they pissed me off. Not my fault everyone thought this was a sport or something!" Rose grumbled from her spot beside Dimitri.

"Children!" Lissa called for their attention. "Behave!" She raised her glass on the air and motioned towards the happy parents to be. "To Rose and Dimitri! May you have two healthy bundles of joy to make your life miserable like Christian and me!" She joked.

"To Rose and Dimitri!" Laughter filled their living room for the rest of the night. Right at that moment, Rose couldn't be happier.


	2. Chapter 2

"My boobs are getting bigger." She observed looking at herself in the mirror. ”I think I like it.”

"I love it," Dimitri murmured wrapping his arms around her. "I also love how round your belly is and let's not start with those amazing curves of yours." He placed a kiss behind her ear making her moan softly. At four -almost five- months pregnant she was starting to gain weight and feeling quite unwanted. She tried to hide her body under baggy clothes, that is until Dimitri showed her exactly how much he loved her new figure. From that night on her clothes became tighter showing off her baby pump.

"Dimitri!" She gasped as he cupped her over her dress and pulled her closer to him. "Lissa is waiting for us." Lissa's son was turning two today and she was holding a ball in his honor. Of course, Andre had no idea what a ball was nor was his sticking around long enough for it but it was protocol. Lissa couldn't avoid it and so everyone was forced to attend.  Rose on the other hand had already thrown a party for the little terror early that morning. A real one with kids his age, balloons, and a big cake.  Because she was that kind of a Godmother! The cool one.

"I know, Roza. I'm just giving you a preview of what's going to happen after we get back." She smiled and turn to face him.

"Comrade?" She placed a soft kiss on his lips and he hummed. "Have you spoke to Adrian lately?”

"Really, Roza?" He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is this the time to bring Adrian into the conversation? While I'm trying to woo you to get lucky?" She laughed and slapped his shoulder playfully pulling away.

"I'm sorry, lover. I'm just worried that's all. I mean he just looks a little depressed. I don't know." Dimitri shook his head and kissed her temple.

"I'm only saying this because I know you're going to be noisy and Adrian needs peace right now. He is in love!”

"I know that, Comrade. He has been  _ in love _ with Sydney for the past few years.” She used air-quotes around ‘in love’ to emphasize a point. Adrian fell in and out of love with women every other day. Rose learned to not pay attention to his love woes after a while. 

"No, Roza.” Dimitri shook his head. “He is in  _ love _ ! Like he really,  _ really loves her _ .”

"You think he wants to..." she trailed off shocked.

"I don't think. I  _ know _ !" For once Rose decided to keep her nose out of Adrian's business. He would figure this out on his own.

* * *

Dimitri wrapped his arms tighter around Rose as they laid on their bed. There were a lot of things to be done to the townhouse but it was coming along nicely. They had finished their bedroom and the common spaces two days ago and had the constructor move to the nursery next. As the months went by the plan to moved back to Turkey was pushed back more and more. Though they had not discussed it officially Dimitri knew deep down that they were a step away from moving back to Court. One of his hands traced uneven patterns on her growing stomach and his wife let out a content sigh. He couldn't believe that seven months had passed so quickly.

"They like it when you do that." She murmured sleepily referring to his habit of caressing the place where their children were growing as often as he could. "It calms them down." For the last few hours, the twins kept kicking not letting Rose rest. She loved feeling them move inside her and it assured her that she  _ was _ pregnant and this was not a dream. But after a while, it always became tiring and uncomfortable.

"I like it too." He whispered in her ear and kissed her neck softly. Rose could hear the love and adoration in his voice and it made her heart swell with happiness. It was truly a miracle that they had been blessed with such a gift. Rose was never the type of girl that wanted to have a family. Back when she was in the academy she was content with the fact that she would guard Lissa for the rest of her life. She didn't need love or anything of those sappy things. Although she had her fair share of boys to play with it never crossed her mind that she would find something like what she had with Dimitri. Her main concern was Lissa.

And then came Dimitri. The hot Russian guy that happened to be seven years older, her mentor, and forbidden for her. Sparks flew from the very first moment they laid eyes on each other. Along with Dimitri came something Rose thought she would never want or need for that matter.

_ Love. _

Now almost six years, a lot of pain and tears later they both created something they thought would never have. With love, they created the two lives resting securely deep within her body. Protected from everything that could harm them. A smile crept up to her lips as she felt the flutter of movement inside of her again.

It was a warm spring night and she had let the french doors of their bedroom open allowing the light breeze in. It was so peaceful tonight.

"Did you hear that?" Dimitri asked alarmed from behind her.

"It's nothing Comrade." She murmured. "Go back to sleep." Rose snuggled under the covers, hugging her pillow closer while Dimitri's arms were secured wrapped around her. In the last few months, Dimitri had become a little paranoid when it came to his wife and kids. Which Rose found annoying but kept that thought to herself not wanting to hurt his feelings.

Dimitri settled again behind her and closed his eyes. He was tired from work and they had stayed up late with Rose talking about the nursery and what would happen when the babies would come. Rose wanted Lissa by her side and their Queen was more than happy to obligate. It was no secret that Lissa pushed for them to move permanently to Court too. She had practically found the townhouse they bought for Rose.

A moment later the peaceful silence was broken and a crush followed by a few curses came from downstairs and Dimitri shot up. Rose turned to look at him as he grabbed his stake from his nightstand. "Stay here." He threw over his shoulder and before Rose could say a word he was out of their room.

He walked down the hallway carefully looking around for any sight of the intruder without success. A second crash came from the living room and a female voice cursed again. Dimitri made his way over to the edge of the stairs only to be greeted by the sight of the Dragomir Princess trying to hold up a very drunk Adrian.

"Jill?" He asked amused at the scene before him. Her head shot up and she looked relieved to see him.

"Dimitri!" She exclaimed still trying to hold Adrian up. "Could you help me, please?" She motioned to the man beside her. Dimitri placed his stake on a self at his right and skipped down the stairs and in mere seconds had dumped Adrian on the couch. "Sorry I had to bring him here but yours were the closest house to the club." She apologized.

"Dimitri? Jill?" Their heads shot up to see Rose looking at them curiously. Rose's eyes traveled from her husband and their friend to the man lying on her couch and she didn't have to ask what happened. She knew very well. She had nursed a drunk Adrian enough these past years. ”This is going to be a long night." She murmured to herself as she made her way to the kitchen to make a hot cup of tea for her and coffee for the others.

* * *

"So I take it something happened with Sydney?" Rose asked and Jill nodded taking a sip from her coffee. It had been only a few days since she and Adrian returned to Court for spring break and from what she knew Adrian and Sydney did not part on good terms. The last time Jill saw them together they were fighting and it looked pretty bad. Fighting wasn't something unusual for the couple since they officially got together a year or so ago but it was never this bad.

Jill had begged Lissa a lot to let her study away from Court and after someone had almost killed her, Lissa had finally agreed. Jill knew her sister loved her and so did she but she needed to get out of here. For everyone's sake! So under a lot of secrecy and with Abe's help, she was moved to Palm Springs along with Adrian. Everyone knew that she wouldn't be able to stay away from her bond mate. To Adrian's pleasant surprise Sydney joined them a few days later. The rest as they say was history.

"So what's going on?" Dimitri asked. He might not be too ' _ fond _ ' of the guy –okay that was a lie he kind of thought of him as a friend. Adrian had even opened up to him once or twice about his woes. 

"I don't know exactly. All I know is that they keep fighting over something and that has to wear Adrian off emotionally. I have never seen him like this before. Not even for you Rose!" She sighed desperately. "You have no idea how much darkness he has inside of him now. The only time I can feel he is truly happy is when he is with Sydney.”

Rose and Dimitri both nodded knowing exactly what Jill was talking about. They had gone through the same things. Whoever said that love was easy had no idea what he was talking about. Love was the toughest thing on earth, loving someone was the hardest work but being loved by someone in return was the greatest gift. Silence fell upon them as they all got lost in their thoughts.

"I have an idea," Rose said slowly a smirking while Dimitri and Jill looked at her almost scared. It never led to something good when Rose had this look on her face. She looked like the cat that ate the canary. Flipping her cell phone open she pressed the numbers quickly and formed a number. Dimitri was almost sure who would be on the other line and as soon as the other person picked the phone he dropped his head on the table.

"Hello daddy!" This wasn't going to end well.

* * *

Adrian rolled over on the unfamiliar bed, his body colliding with another. His head was pounding and he was sure that this would be the worst hangover he ever had. A few years ago Adrian used to drink so he could keep the spirit in check. But nowadays that changed; Adrian drank so he could forget the two golden eyes that had been haunting him since he set foot in Turkey so many years ago. He was sure that God was punishing him by sending the sexy Alchemist in his life to torture him. Adrian was pretty sure that Sydney Sage was his punishment for whatever he did wrong.

He opened his eyes and took a look around. Yep! He was in an unknown house.

"Good morning Sunshine." Adrian's head snapped towards the direction where the voice came only to find his arch-nemesis sitting beside him reading a book and drinking coffee. Okay, Dimitri was not his arch-nemesis but you get his point.  _ What the hell happened last night? _ He thought to himself.

"You don't remember, do you?" Dimitri chuckled and Adrian wondered if he had asked that aloud. "Yes, you did," Dimitri informed him and Adrian groaned, it seemed the filter between his brain and his mouth didn't work today. "Did it ever work?" Dimitri asked him and Adrian face palmed himself.

"My head hurts." He groaned again as Rose walked into the room with a glass of water and a few aspirins. Now everything fell into place slowly. He was at Rose and Dimitri's house.

"How did I end up here?" He asked as he sat up and took the aspirins from Rose's hand.

"Jill brought you. You were way too drunk for her to take you home and the next best place was our house." Rose informed him as she sat beside her husband. Dimitri leaned down and kissed her swollen stomach before he moves up to kiss her lips chastely. At that moment Adrian felt jealousy burn inside of him. Not because Dimitri had Rose but because of what Dimitri and Rose had. This unconditional love they seemed to share and that only seemed to be getting stronger now that they had babies on the way. He wanted to feel that too with Sydney by his side. He wanted to put a ring on her finger and call her officially his. He wanted to see her round with his children and be able to kiss her stomach as Dimitri did with Rose. But Sydney would never accept that.

"So do you want to talk about what's been bugging you?" Rose's voice brought him out of his thoughts and Adrian laid back down. Did he want to talk about what happened between him and Sydney? Better yet was he ready to talk about how torn his heart was? He knew that Sydney was hurting too, he could see it in her eyes. But his Alchemist was too stubborn for her good. They've been dancing around each other for years and when he finally had accepted the fact that they weren't meant to be she turned up on his doorstep ready to be his.

He remembered vividly that day. She looked like an angel as the sun shone around her. Her blonde hair was falling down her back like silk and her eyes were that beautiful gold color he loved so much. Not much was said, he knew why she was there. She was ready to take the next step with him; he could feel it as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled inside his room. That was the best night of his existence, he had his fair share of women but Sydney was different. She was his one. The moment he slipped inside her he decided that this was it for him. But just as he thought life was getting easier one word from him and everything went downhill. Now he could see how stupid he was but he refused to admit that he was wrong.

"There is not much to say." Adrian let a deep sigh out while his eyes met Rose's. "I'm pretty sure you know what's going on better than me." Adrian smiled as a blush crawled its way up her cheeks. He knew the relationship Rose and Sydney had; they were very good friends and that friendship only got deeper after Syd came back to their lives. "I asked her to marry me." Dimitri choked on his coffee as Rose threw her head back and laughed loudly.

" _ You did what? _ " Dimitri asked and Adrian could see how stunned the older man was.

"I asked her to marry me," Adrian answered solemnly his gaze locking with Rose's. Even though she found it quite funny she was very serious about what she was going to do next. She searched his eyes for something, Adrian wasn't sure what, but she found it because seconds later a mischievous smile spread over her face.

"Are you serious?!" Dimitri squeaked throwing his arms in the air. "I know you love her and all but marriage?" He said solemnly and Adrian threw a glare his way.

"I don't need your blessing to ask her, Belikov. I know how I feel and I know that I can't go another day without her by my side. I need to see her face every single morning I wake up. Don't tell me you didn't feel that way about Rose!" Dimitri seemed to think about it and then nodded slowly. He knew what Adrian meant.

"Are you sure about this, Adrian? I'm not going to help you if you are going to break her heart." Adrian's eyes snapped up to meet Rose's.

"You need to ask? The proof is right in front of you, Rose. A mess still wearing last night's clothes, smelling like a bottle of gin!”

"Then I have an idea." She pushed herself on her feet with a little help from Dimitri and reached for her phone on the nightstand. Adrian watched her as she pressed the numbers smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "The plan is on!" She squealed on the phone and a happy sigh left her lips.

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work old man?" Rose questioned as she put the phone down.

"It worked on your mother all those years ago!" Abe shot back annoyed. This wasn't his first time setting people up for God's sake!

"I know but Sydney and mom-“

"They are both women, little girl! If she loves him she'll come." He assured her. According to the plan, Abe sent a message to Sydney that Adrian couldn't bear the rejection and tried to kill himself since she didn't love him enough to be with him. An old but classic trick! Abe knew it would work, now only if his daughter showed a little trust. Rose's phone ringed making everyone sit up.

"Hello?" The female voice on the other side was frantic. Rose had to keep the phone away from her ear, Sydney was in hysterics. Abe smirked happily that his plan was working.

" _ Tell them to let me in or I swear... _ " From what Rose gathered Sydney was at the gates and they refused to let her in.

"Calm down, woman! I'm sending Dimitri to get you!" Sydney finally settled down at Rose's words and she ended the call and Dimitri took it as his cue to leave before Sydney tore the Court apart. Putting her phone down she took a look around. Rose had sent everyone away and praised whoever higher power was helping her by keeping Adrian's parents out of their hair.

It would be a real bummer to have Nathan whining about this and she wasn't sure she was in the right mood to deal with him. On a normal day, she would snap at him effectively shutting him up. On bad and stressful like this one though? Dimitri barely kept her back to not murder the older annoying Moroi. She had the means to do it and make it look like an accident, all right?

She moved to sit beside Adrian's bed while her father took a seat by the window, looking all sad and stoic. "What are you staring at?" Her hand connected with the back of Adrian's head."Lay back, the show is about to start!" Adrian gave a small wine rubbing the spot where she hit him. "And look all pale and sickly!”

"Okay!" He whined. "No need to get abusive, you know!" He murmured sulking and dropped back against the sheets. He was so owning her for all of this!

Sydney let a breath out as soon as she saw Dimitri. "See? I told you I knew them!" She hissed to the idiots on the gates. Usually, she was very patient and liked to follow the protocol but right now she had another idiot to beat up! How could he do something like that? Was he that daft? He tried to kill himself because she said no to his proposal! Which wasn't even a proper one. She would hardly call him asking her to marry him right after sex the best way to do it! Not that she thought about the perfect proposal of course.

"Syd, it's nice to see you again after so long." Dimitri smiled at the young Alchemist and hugged her. "It's alright gentlemen, the lady is here to see us." He said to the poor Guardians that had gone pale. They weren't so much afraid of him as they were of Rose. It seemed that none wanted to piss off a pregnant Hathaway.

"I'm sorry Mister Belikov but she didn't have permission to be here." One of the guards murmured apologetically.

"It's fine guys. I should have let you know Miss Sage was visiting. Now if you'll excuse us." He grabbed Sydney by the elbow gently and started walking. "That boyfriend of yours is the biggest drama queen I've ever met!" He chuckled softly. "And I have three sisters! I know about drama queens!" Sydney though couldn't find it in her to laugh.

"How is he, Dimitri? Is he alright?" She asked desperately and he felt kind of bad for what they were doing.

"He'll be fine. Jill found him just in time. He only took a few aspirins. They made him good as new." He assured her and made a mental note to never let his wife do something like that again.

Sydney felt all air leave her body as soon as the door opened to reveal Adrian's room. She had been here only a handful of times and always when his parents weren't here. Not because he didn't want to be seen with her but because Sydney didn't feel up to seeing Nathan that often. 

"What have you done?" she whispered to herself as she moved to stand beside his bed, his face was paler than usual and she could see the black circles under his closed eyelids. Rose was seated in an armchair right next to her, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying.

"You are just in time, Miss Sage." Zmey's gruff voice brought her out of her thoughts. "The doctor just left. He said Adrian will be all right but he needs rest." His voice was oddly calm, sending shivers down her spine. 

"To think that all this happened just because you said no." He sighed dramatically. "If only-“

"Enough, Dad!" Rose snapped from her seat. "Sydney has nothing to do with Adrian's idiotic tendencies. I'm sure she had her reasons for not wanting to marry him." Something was off in Rose's behavior but Sydney couldn't see what. She rose and smoothed down her sundress.

"Let's give her a few minutes alone with him." Abe followed his daughter out of the room with Dimitri hot on his heels. She sat down beside him, Sydney ran her fingers through his soft hair and it was the first time in so many years they weren't stylized in that ridiculous way he did it.

"What have you idiot?" she murmured and placed a soft kiss upon his lips. "Did you even for a moment think I said no because I don't love you?" She wondered out loud. He was her whole life, damn it! The only reason she turned him down was the way he proposed. she shook her head lightly, if she had said yes this would be avoided. "To be fair I wouldn't have shut you down if you were a little more romantic about it." She murmured to herself unaware that the very bane of her existence was listening. "What kind of person asks another person to marry them right after sex?! A little romance never hurt anyone!”

"So you would say yes if I had made a grand affair out of this?" Her head snapped up and golden brown eyes met jade blue ones. It took her a few seconds to work out what had happened. Her fist came hard down on his jaw but not fast enough, Adrian caught her hands and flipped her over, throwing his body weight on top of hers. Sydney trashed and squirmed underneath him trying to free herself but Adrain only held her tighter. "I suggest you stop moving, love. Or else this will turn into something entirely different!" He laughed huskily, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You!" She fumed angrily but before she could say anything else his lips connected with her. All thoughts left her mind as his tongue slipped past her lips. Why was she angry with him again?


	3. Chapter 3

"I want it!”

"That's impossible, Roza!" Dimitri sighed desperately. They told him women could get crazy while pregnant, he should have seen that coming. If someone would take it to the next level that would be his wife. "Where am I supposed to find that?”

"You'll find a way." She shrugged and shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. He took a deep breath and remind himself that Rose was going through something very hard for a woman now, so he should do everything in his power to make her happy. She was about to give birth to his children after all. With three sisters he knew how difficult that was he knew way more than he liked about giving birth, to be honest.

"So let me get this straight,"  _ Breath in, breath out, and repeat,  _ he reminds himself trying to stay calm. He could handle this, he wouldn't upset her. "You want me to somehow find a Doctor Who themed baby crib?”

"No!" She pronounced as if talking to a child. "I want that exact crib that was shown on the sixth season of Doctor Who!" Crazy! That was the only thing he could think about her. His wife was insane!

"Again! That's impossible!" He hissed a little too harsh but Rose seemed unfazed by it.

"Daddy!" Rose whined and Abe's eyes rose to meet hers. He sat silently in the armchair reading the whole time. Too silently for Dimitri's taste to be frank and he could sense that something was up. "Tell him it's possible!" Dimitri blamed Abe for all this. He was the one that was spoiling Rose rotten the last few years. More so now that she was pregnant.

"Do it, Belikov." The look Abe threw at him left no room for argument. His shoulders slumped, the first evidence that he gave up. Another deep breath and he sat up, he had a lot of things to do.

"Take Adrian with you!" Rose smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. Oh how much he loved her!

* * *

"You are crazy.”

"I've been called worse." Rose shrugged lazily. The house was strangely quiet but then again it was always like that when Dimitri was away. Add to that the fact that Adrian tagged along it shouldn't surprise her. Sydney offered to keep her company and Rose was more than happy to accept. At eight months she felt like she was about to pop and any help was welcomed. Any help that didn't drive her insane that is. "He needed to get out of here for a while or I would murder him. And I kind of love him to kill him, you know!" She teased.

"That bad, huh?" Rose smiled at her friend's question. Dimitri had been hovering the last few weeks, Rose knew he wanted to make sure everything was fine but that didn't mean he wasn't overbearing at times. He needed something to keep him busy and so Rose found it.

"Yes and no. I enjoy all the attention but sometimes it's just too much." She sighed running a hand over her overgrown stomach. She was ready for them to be born already. All this wait was killing her! "I have my mom, Lissa, and Olena to fuss over me and it already stresses me out. Having Dimitri worrying about every little single thing too doesn't help either. The other day he dragged me down to the hospital just because he thought I was in labor! Turns out it was Braxton Hicks! Penny was laughing with us for a good half an hour!”

"Come on! That's not so bad! It's pretty sweet and reassuring, he is concerned about you." Syd justified. Leave it to her to back up Dimitri. It still surprised Rose how much the two had bonded over the past few months. Rose couldn't be happier about it, finally, their little weird family was coming together again.

"I'm not saying it's not! I'm just saying I had enough and he needs a break." She rose awkwardly from her chair and made her way over to the sink unaware of Sydney's expression.

"Um, Rose?”

“Yes?"

"Please tell me you just peed in your pants!" Just in time a small stab like pain shot through her lower abdomen and Rose grabbed her stomach.

"Nope." She hissed. "I did not pee in my pants.”

* * *

_ Leave it to Dimitri to not be here when he's needed,  _ Rose thought as she breathed through another contraction. Thankfully Sydney was able to stay calm because Rose was fucking freaking out. After getting her to the hospital Syd called up everyone and made sure they showed up. Three hours later her room was crammed with four women and her father and they still couldn't get a hold of Dimitri and Adrian. She was in a lot of pain and her mother and Olena did not make it any better!

"Rose was such a small baby!" Janine smiled recalling the memory. "She just slipped right out!" Abe made a face looking away from her.

"You and I remember that day very differently." He murmured under his breath but Janine heard it. The dirty look she threw him made him effectively shut up.

"Dimitri was big!" Olena counteracted and a small whine escaped Rose. She didn't want to hear about this right now! "I pushed for hours and hours! I thought I was going to be torn in two." She laughed lightly unaware of the panic storm raging within Rose.

"Get them out of here!" Rose hissed grabbing Sydney's sleeve. "Please get them out of here and find Dimitri!”

"I'm trying!" Sydney whined pressing the keys on her phone again.

"I got a hold of him!" Sydney exclaimed happily. "They are just half an hour away from Court!”

"It's about damn time," Abe murmured bitterly. "She's ready to give birth any moment.”

"Shut up, old man!" Rose's voice was soft and she seemed relaxed. Sydney took it as a sign that the drugs were finally kicking in and breathed deeply. That is until Rose whined again and drew everyone's attention. "I think I'm ready to get this over with. Now!” Everyone stood still for a moment. "Get my fucking doctor!”

* * *

"Come on Rose just one more-“

"I swear to everything I hold dear, Leonard if you tell me to push one more time I'm going to skin you alive!" The last hour had been a maze of moments like this, screams, threats, tears, and everything that comes with it. And Dimitri was still nowhere to be found!

"Rose." Penny squeezed her thigh reassuringly. "We are trying to help you here." Her voice was and soothing and Rose thanked her lucky stars that she was in such good hands.

"I know!" She choked and pushed hard again. The door burst open just as a scream tore through her. "Where the fuck have you been!" She hissed as Dimitri made his way over to her side.

* * *

Rose rested her head against her pillow. To say that today was a long day would be an understatement. In her life, Rose fought crazy Moroi that wanted to take over the world and undead vampires that wanted to kill her more than they wanted blood. She brought the love of her life back from the dead, broke out of prison, and made her best friend a Queen. But today, Rose won the biggest battle of her life.

She gave birth to two little miracles. Through the course of the eight months, she was pregnant, both her mom and Olena tried to prepare her for what was to come. But what she felt today didn't even come close to what they were describing. Rose thought she had experienced love to the greatest level with Dimitri and that nothing could top it. But boy was she wrong! Just when she thought she couldn't love her husband more these two miracles came and took her straight to cloud nine.

_Happiness_.

Finally, after all those years of pain, God sent them something good. Rose didn't believe in God as much as the others did, even her father went to church every Sunday. But now, looking down at the little angels she could only thank Him for blessing her with them.

"They are beautiful." She whispered afraid that she would wake them.

"Just like their mother." Her husband murmured kissing her forehead softly. Rose let sleep take her as Dimitri put the babies in the bassinets. She needed rest.

* * *

The next time she opened her eyes she saw Dimitri still standing by the bassinets watching over their children.  _ Their children _ . As in plural; when she learned she was pregnant Rose was happy with the idea of only one child. But apparently, fate had other plans and when she booked her appointment for her first scan her doctor informed her that she was pregnant with twins. The term ecstatic didn't even start to describe how she felt. A smile crawled its way up her lips. Rose felt a euphoric wave rush through her. As if sensing she was awake Dimitri turned to look at her.

Their eyes met and they didn't need words to understand each other. He took two big steps and was suddenly in front of her, cupping her face between his large hands and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Pouring everything he felt for her in that kiss. Today she gave him the best thing anyone could offer. Rose gave him two beautiful children. One of each, a little girl looking like her and a little boy looking like him.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." He teased her and kissed her cheek.

"How long was I asleep?" Rose asked in a hoarse voice.

"Just a couple of hours. Three, maybe four." He answered tucking her hair behind her ear lovingly. How he ended up with such a lovely creature was beyond him. Rose went into full panic mode. Four hours? What about the babies? Who took care of them? She made a move to get up but Dimitri pushed her gently down on the bed again. "What are you going to? You need to rest!”

"I just wanted to check on the babies." Rose pouted making him smile again.

"They are just fine." He assured her, moving a little to the left so Rose could have a full view of the bassinets. "They are peacefully sleeping. They inherited your love for sleep." He mused making Rose giggle.  _ God how he loved her laugh!  _ Even after almost 24 hours of labor she still looked so beautiful. The last few months hadn't been easy on them. The stress of getting through this and setting up things to stay here for a while made everything just a bit tiring. But looking at her eyes now he knew it was worth it.

"How are you feeling?" Rose could hear the concern in his voice. Dimitri was so scared about her and the babies' health the whole course of her pregnancy. Seeing him like this, so relaxed made her feel better. Finally, they were complete. They were a family.

"A little sore." She smiled caressing his cheek and kissing his lips softly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." She said her smile touching her eyes. It'd been a long time since Dimitri had seen Rose so happy.

"I love you. So much it hurts." He whispered resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." She said. After a few minutes of kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other, Rose finally register that they were alone. "Where is everyone?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him. She expected a room full of people, not this silence.

"Penny kicked them out after a while. Told them to come again later." He said chuckling as he remembered the faces of their family. They were all ready to put up a fight and stay but Penny warned them that if they didn't leave in the next few minutes she would throw them out herself. Such a sweet well-mannered woman! Dimitri knew there was a reason he liked her.

"Come lay beside me?" She didn't need to ask twice. He immediately removed his shoes and joined her on the bed. Dimitri wrapped his arms around her and Rose let out a happy sigh, snuggling closer to him.

Her eyes fell again on the bassinets beside her bed and she couldn't help but smile. Their lives were about to change. From now on there would never be silence in their house and it would always be a mess. Still, Rose couldn't help but be grateful for what was given to her.

"Are you happy?" Dimitri looked at Rose, surprised by her question. Was he happy? He was more than that, he was blessed by God with a family he never thought he would have. When he was turned back from being a Strigoi, Dimitri had lost all his hope. He might have been in his old body but what he did to innocent people, what he did to Rose was unforgivable.

He thought he was unworthy of the thing called love, he was unworthy of calling Rose  _ his _ . He concluded that he would die alone like any other Guardian. But fortunately for him, Rose didn't give up on them. Because of her, he was finally able to leave the dark past behind.

"I'm more than happy. After you got shot, for a few hours I thought I lost you and I hated myself for what I made you go through. I prayed to God to let you stay beside me, to let me make it up to you. When my wish was granted and you lived I was happy. And then I screwed up again and let you walk away." He took a deep breath, his forehead resting against her. "I have Andrei to thank for knocking a little sense into me back then. I thought you'd never take me back but you proved me wrong. I was beyond happy back then. But now after what you have given me? Happy can't even begin to describe what I am feeling. I'm on cloud nine, babe!" He smiled and swept away the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"That was so beautiful." She sobbed burying her head in the crook of his neck.

"Roza!" Dimitri whispered panicked had he said something wrong. "Tell me, baby. What's wrong?" He asked caressing her hair softly.

"It's these damn hormones!" Rose wiped her tears away. "What you said was so sweet and it made me emotional. I'm sorry!" Abe warned him about those things. Apparently, Janine went through it when she had Rose. Dimitri cupped her face and softly kissed his wife's lips again.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, love." Dimitri chuckled kissing her forehead. They stayed like this for a while until a little wail broke the silence. Rose's head snapped towards the sound and before she could get up Dimitri was already on his feet picking their son up. The infant stopped crying as Dimitri placed him in his mother's arms.

It felt so bizarre to hold him. Rose couldn't believe that she and Dimitri had created this life. This little thing with the small fingers and the button-like nose was their son. Tears started running down her cheeks again. "He is so beautiful." She whispered and Dimitri smiled.

"He is also very hungry." He noted caressing the baby's fuzzy head. "So you better feed him." Rose looked at him with wide eyes a little bit lost.

"Here let me help." He whispered and helped her adjust the baby in her arms. The little man latched on his mother's nipple and started eating, sucking contentedly. Dimitri picked their daughter up and joined the rest of his family on the bed.

"Names," Rose whispered caressing her baby boy's cheek as he ate. Her focus all on him, she looked at the baby wondering how they could make something so beautiful.

"Hmm?" Dimitri was humming a song Rose never heard before to their daughter. Probably some Russian lullaby.

"We don't have names yet," Rose repeated as the baby stopped sucking. "What am I doing now?" She looked at Dimitri waiting for his advice. He had experience with babies after all.

"Just place him on your shoulder and rub his back." He instructed and Rose did as she was told. "I have thought of a few names but I want your opinion.”

"Go ahead," Rose whispered smiling sweetly at him. The kind of smile she only gave to Dimitri.

"I was thinking Ivan Mason Belikov for our little man." He leaned down and kissed Ivan's head softly. "And Aleksandra Vasilissa Belikova for our little princess." He smiled down at the pink bundle in his arms. Dimitri knew from the first moment he held his little girl, he knew that he would have to chase a lot of boys away from his front door. "You know, that way they will both be named after people we love or loved once." His daughter's small fingers wrapped around Dimitri's and he fell a little more in love with her. He and Rose made this little miracle together.

"I like them." Rose's smile never left her lips. Dimitri noticed that she did that a lot the last few months. He liked it when his Roza was happy. "We are parents." She laughed softly, her heart full of love. "Can you believe it? I mean you were born to be a daddy I knew that. But it's still hard to believe that I am a mother. What if I mess everything up Comrade?" Dimitri expected that Rose would doubt herself. She may look all tough and strong on the outside, and she was all that to some extent, but deep inside Rose was scared that she would be a terrible mother.

"You will be an amazing mother. You took care of Lissa and yourself for years without any help. This will be the same with the only difference that you have me beside you and we both have our families. They will all be there for us if we need anything." He assured her and Rose let a small part of her doubts go. Just as she was ready to speak a knock on her door stopped her.

"Yes?" Dimitri answered for her and the door opened and Sydney's head popped in the room. Sydney had been living with Rose and Dimitri for the past three months and she was happily dating Adrian against all odds. Turns out there was more than meets the eye between them. At first, Sydney was adamant about ignoring her feelings for Adrian but after a little help from Rose, she finally saw logic and gave Adrian a chance. Which was going very well for both of them. Rose had never seen Adrian so happy before. He finally had found his one and only.

"Are we allowed to come in?" Sydney smiled brightly. She did that a lot lately Rose mused. Apparently, Adrian was as good for her as she was for him. Dimitri nodded and the door opened fully to reveal a bunch of people, waiting outside.

Rose's parents, Olena, Lissa, Christian, Mia with Eddie, Adrian with Sydney, and then Jill. Tears threatened to fall from Rose's eyes as she took in the picture of their crazy and unusual family. The room filled with balloons, teddy bears, and most importantly, happy voices and that was all that mattered for the new parents.

_ The happiness… _


End file.
